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I'm a doctor, not a...
I'm a doctor, not a... is a famous and used in Star Trek. Originally used by Dr. Leonard McCoy in , the phrase lived on in various other incarnations of Star Trek and was used by both Julian Bashir and The Doctor, among others. Dr. McCoy's original delivery of the phrase varied with emotional intensity, from extreme frustration to lighthearted sarcasm. Subsequent uses in later series also mirrored this performance. This iconic phrase has also appeared in other media as both a parody and homage to the show. Very often, it was just the way of Dr. McCoy and subsequent characters to prevent criticism in case of failure, but also often, the "not a…" ability was successful, especially in dire needs. The line has been misquoted in media as "Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor…" although McCoy never used this expletive in the series. However this version of the line was eventually used by the alternate reality . Usage Dr. Leonard McCoy *"What am I, a doctor or a moon shuttle conductor?" ( ) *"My dear girl, I'm a doctor. When I peek, it is in the line of duty." ( ) *"I don't know, Jim. This is a big ship. I'm just a country doctor." ( ) *"Me, I'm a doctor. If I were an officer of the line…" ( ) *"What do you mean what sort of work? I'm a doctor." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a bricklayer." ( ) ::…to which Kirk replies, "You're a healer, there's a patient. That's an order." *"I'm a surgeon, not a psychiatrist." ( ) *"I'm not a scientist or a physicist, Mr. Spock…" ( ) *"Look, I'm a doctor, not an escalator." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a mechanic." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not an engineer." ( ) ::…to which Montgomery Scott immediately replied, "Now,'' you're an engineer." *"''I'm not a magician, Spock, just an old country doctor." ( ) *"I will not peddle flesh! I'm a physician." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a coal miner." ( ) *"I'm not a mechanic, Spock…" ( ) *"I'm a doctor, Spock … a doctor! Get us beamed aboard!" ( ) :During one episode of , DeForest Kelley spoke the line "''I'm not a doctor, I'm a convicted murderer."'' Dr. Leonard McCoy (alternate reality) *"I don't need a doctor, damn it, I ''am a doctor!" ( ) *"''I'm a doctor, , I'm busy!" ( ) *"Damn it, man, I'm a doctor, not a physicist!" ( ) *"Damn it, man, I'm a doctor, not a torpedo technician!" ( ) *"Damn it, Jim, I'm a doctor, not a –" (beamed out) ( ) , issue #200, p. 60)}} Dr. Julian Bashir *"Garak, I'm a doctor, not…" meaning a spy or an investigator, but Garak interrupted him. ( ) *Garak says "I'm no more a spy than you are…" Bashir interrupts, saying "A doctor." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a botanist." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not an historian." ( ) *Variation as Julius Eaton: "We're writers, not vikings." ( ) The Doctor *"I'm a doctor, Mr. Neelix, not a decorator." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a bartender." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a voyeur." ( ) *"I shouldn't have to remind you: I'm a doctor…" ::…interrupted by Torres: "…not an engineer. Right, but…" ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a performer." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a counterinsurgent." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a database." ::…to which Henry Starling responds: "I'd say you're a little bit of both." ( ) *"I am a doctor, not a peeping Tom, there's nothing I haven't seen before." (when catching Torres in the sonic shower) ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a battery." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a dragonslayer." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not a zookeeper." ( ) *"I'm a doctor, not an engineer." ( ) , during Picardo's audition, the final scripted line for the reading was, "I believe someone has failed to terminate my program," and he finished his audition with the "I'm a doctor, not a nightlight." However, when encountering the example in "Phage", Picardo was apparently unfamiliar with the tradition at first. He later recalled, "When I read that script I just thought it was a joke. Then I was told on the set this is a Bones line. I guess I remember him saying lines like that." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 27, No. 4/5, p. 40)|The example from "Parturition" was invented by Picardo himself. He remembered, "I suggested the 'I'm a doctor, not a voyeur' line, which also made it into an episode." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 97)|By the end of the second season of Voyager, Robert Picardo had become aware of the audience's appreciation for these lines and had invented a version that ultimately never made it into an episode. The actor commented, "The audience seems to get a kick out of whenever I invoke the spirit of Dr. McCoy." Laughing, Picardo added, "I hope someday to have a scene with Harry Kim, where I say, 'Damn it, Kim, I'm a doctor not a blank task the script demands.' That would really be tweaking them one step further." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 28, No. 4/5, p. 97)}} Dr. Phlox *"I'm a physician, not an engineer." ( ) Starfleet EMHs * EMH Mark I: "I'm a doctor, not a doorstop." ( ) * EMH Mark II: "I am a doctor, ''not a commando." ( ) Variants ''The Original Series ;James T. Kirk: "That's a supposition, doctor, not a fact." ( ) "I'm a soldier, not a diplomat." ( ) :"You keep saying that. Are you a doctor, or aren't you?" ( ) :"These are people, not robots." ( ) ;Carl Jaeger: "I'm a scientist, not a military man." ( ) The Next Generation ;William T. Riker: "This is geology, not malevolence." ( ) ; Katherine Pulaski: "He is a boy, not a sword." (referring to Wesley Crusher) ( ) ;K'Vada: "This is a military vessel, not a pleasure craft." (regarding his Bird of Prey in ) ;V'Sal: "I'm just a barber, not a miracle worker!" ( ) Deep Space Nine ; : "I'm a weapons dealer, not a soldier." ( ) ;Cardassian security officer: "This is a jail, not a hotel." ( ) ;Dukat: "That's justice, not malevolence." ( ) ;Crewman : "I'm sorry , but I'm an engineer, not a magician." ( ) ;Gilora Rejal: "We're scientists, not diplomats." ( ) ;Martok: "Why? You're a bartender, not a warrior." ( , to Quark) ;Miles O'Brien: "I'm an engineer, not a philosopher." ( ) (Garak:) "Maybe you're not a soldier anymore." (O'Brien:) "You're right. I'm an engineer." (his jury-rigged explosive detonates) ( ) ;Odo: "I'm a security chief, not a combat pilot." ( ) "This is work, not recreation." ( ) "I'm a changeling, not a solid." ( ) "I'm not a God, I'm a security officer." ( ) ;Benjamin Sisko: "This is not a request, it's an order." ( ) "He's not a detective, he's an engineer." ( , about Miles O'Brien) ;Douglas Pabst: "I'm a magazine editor, not a crusader." ( ) ;Julius Eaton: "Calm down dear boy. We're writers, not Vikings." ( ) ;Worf: "I am a warrior, not a murderer." ( ) ;Quark: "You're asking me? You're the terrorist, I'm just a bartender." ( , to Major Kira) . (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine Companion, p. 42)}} Voyager ;The Doctor : "This is a sickbay, not a conference room." ( ) : "They're Klingons, not kittens." ( ) : "This is sickbay, not an arsenal." ( ) : "She's a counselor, lieutenant, not an engineer." referring to Deanna Troi ( ) : "This is a sickbay, not a dormitory." ( ) : "But, this isn't just sickbay, it's my residence." ( ) : "This is a Federation starship, not the Barge of the Dead!" ( ) : "It's not justice, it's revenge." ( ) ;Diagnostic hologram :"I'm a diagnostic tool, not an engineer." ( ) :(said of The Doctor): "''It wasn't programmed to be a tenor, it was programmed to be a physician." ( ) ;Tom Paris : "I'm a pilot, Harry, not a doctor!" ( ) ;B'Elanna Torres : "I'm an engineer, not a costume designer." ( ) ;Harry Kim : "They're scientists, not soldiers." ( ) ;Neelix : (Quoting Captain Janeway, referring to her as "the warden") "This is punishment, not shore leave." ( ) ;Chellick : "We're healers, not killers." ( ) ;Kathryn Janeway : "This is a starship, not a nature preserve." ( ) ;Nechani magistrate : "I'm an official of the government, not a spiritual leader." ( ) ;Kejal: "I'm not a Cardassian, I'm a hologram." ( ) Enterprise ;Jonathan Archer : "We're visitors, not spies." ( ) ;T'Pol : "This isn't shore leave, this is a research mission." ( ) ;Phlox : "I need to think like an engineer, not a physician." ( ) ;John Frederick Paxton : "I need a scalpel, not a bludgeon." ( ) ;T'Pau : "He doesn't need a physician, he needs a priest." ( ) , Admiral Forrest told Archer, "You're out there as an explorer not a policeman."}} Discovery ;Danby Connor : "We're explorers, not soldiers." ( ) ;Nhan : "You're an engineer, not a surgeon." ( ) ;Jett Reno : "I'm just a gearhead, not a farmer." ( ) : "I'm an engineer, not a poet." ( ) Apocrypha ;DeForest Kelley: "I'm an actor, not a doctor." (used in a 1992 commercial for Trivial Pursuit 10th Anniversary Edition, in which the question is asked, "How many chambers are there in a human heart?") ;Quark: "You're a doctor, not a gambler." (The Big Game) ;Kira : "I thought you were a doctor, not a hacker." (Proud Helios, p. 260) ;Miles O'Brien : "Dr. Bashir, you're a doctor, not a first-contact specialist." ( , p. 19) ;McCoy : "You're a doctor, not a Horta." (The Return, p. 268) talking to Bashir. ;EMH : "I'm a doctor, not a computer." (Avenger, p. 350) ;EMH as McCoy : "I'm a doctor, not an interior designer." (Avenger, p. 351) ;McCoy : "I'm a doctor, not a target." (Star Trek: Judgment Rites) ;McCoy : "I'm a doctor, not a sideshow." (Avenger, p. 354) ;McCoy : "I'm a doctor, not an engineer!" (Star Trek Online) Series 2 – Episode 4 : Everything Old Is New Again :EMH "I'm a doctor, not a doorstop." ;EMH : "I'm a doctor, not an archaeologist." (War Stories, Book 1, p. 17) ;EMH : "I'm a doctor, not a concierge." (A Time to Sow, p. 135) ;EMH : "I'm a doctor, not a space marine!" (Star Trek: Voyager: Elite Force) ;EMH : "I am an Emergency Medical Hologram, not a miracle worker!" (Star Trek Online) During Khitomer Crisis Mission after character creation ;EMH Mark II : "I'm a doctor, not a quantum mechanic!" (Spectre, p. 212) ;Marcus Refelian : "I'm a command officer, not an engineer." (Star Trek: Away Team) ;Brex : "Damn it Jim, I'm an engineer, not a conversationalist!" (Star Trek: Bridge Commander) ;Jean-Luc Picard: "I'm an explorer, Donald, not a warrior." (The Buried Age, p. 97) ;Q: "Well, what did you expect? He's a doctor, not a security officer." (Star Trek: Borg) referring to Dr. Thaddeus Quint Prior art While the character of Dr. McCoy arguably made the phrase "I'm a doctor …" part of the common lexicon, he was not the first fictional doctor, or even the first character on the big screen, to use the phrase. In the 1933 American film , Dr. Doremus, the coroner at the scene of the titular crime, states "I'm a doctor, not a magician" and "I'm a doctor, not a detective" within five minutes of his first appearance. The latter line was also uttered by Dr. Fortescue, played by , in the 1949 version of . It is unclear whether these particular dialogue artifacts were progenitors of McCoy's famous phrase. "I'm a whatever not a whatever" is also a Yiddish idiom, most commonly "I'm a whatever, not a rabbi." Related topics * 47 references * ''Star Trek'' parodies * He's dead, Jim External links * * - TV Tropes page showing the phrase's influence outside Star Trek cs:Jsem doktor, ne ... de:Ich bin Arzt… es:"Soy un doctor, no..." ja:私は医者だ。～じゃない。 pl:Jestem lekarzem, nie... it:Sono un dottore, non... Category:Star Trek and pop culture 7